Organ Grinder + Mark Thompson | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder+markthompson
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BBC cuts: viewers may think nothing will change – but wait for the £400m 'efficiencies'https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/oct/09/bbc-cuts-steve-hewlett
Some of Mark Thompson's Delivering Quality First proposals bring clarity, however the devil is in the detail<p>BBC director general Mark Thompson will be feeling pretty pleased with himself, given the way that his much-anticipated <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/oct/06/bbc-cuts-cost-savings-glance" title="">Delivering Quality First (DQF)</a> – aka BBC cuts – announcements of last week have played out so far.</p><p>By avoiding any mention of headline grabbing whole-service cuts he has as yet avoided anything resembling the full-on licence-payer revolt sparked by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jul/05/bbc-6-music-saved?INTCMP=SRCH" title="">his earlier attempt to close 6 Music</a>. Thompson says, and plainly hopes, that the planned cuts to services – "scope" in DQF jargon – such as daytime originations on BBC 2, overnight services on BBC1 and 2, some bespoke local radio programming, some sport, starting with the Formula One Sky deal, and so on – will pass most licence payers by. And, if initial press reaction is anything to go by, he may well be right.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/oct/09/bbc-cuts-steve-hewlett">Continue reading...</a>BBCBBC OneBBC TwoMediaBBC ThreeTelevision industryBBC FourMark ThompsonMedia downturnSun, 09 Oct 2011 17:33:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/oct/09/bbc-cuts-steve-hewlettPhotograph: Dave Thompson/PABBC director general Mark Thompson announced the DQF proposals Photograph: Dave Thompson/PAPhotograph: Dave Thompson/PABBC director general Mark Thompson announced the DQF proposals Photograph: Dave Thompson/PASteve Hewlett2011-10-09T17:33:01ZFarewell to Mark Byford, the BBC's steady-handed deputyhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/may/30/bbc-director-general-mark-byford
Deputy director general Mark Byford, stepping down after 32 years, has been called the glue that held the BBC together<p>Last week saw a major event at the BBC although you won't have seen it on screen. Deputy director general Mark Byford left the BBC after 32 years, in which time he ran Look North, home news, nations and regions, the World Service, the whole of the BBC as acting DG in the wake of the Hutton debacle, and latterly had responsibility for all BBC journalism as deputy to Mark Thompson.</p><p>If he has a public profile at all it is because Byford came to symbolise the apparent excesses of top executive pay at the corporation. There he was, grey man with a job for life, half a million pounds in salary and, because he had been at the BBC so long without ever leaving, an uncapped two-thirds final salary pension entitlement and no obvious market rate comparator to justify such riches. It was very easy to put the question, as even many lower ranking BBC staff did – who else would pay Mark Byford £500,000 and for what? – knowing there was no very good answer.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/may/30/bbc-director-general-mark-byford">Continue reading...</a>BBCMediaMark ThompsonGreg DykeBBC World ServiceMon, 30 May 2011 06:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/may/30/bbc-director-general-mark-byfordPhotograph: Linda Nylind/GuardianMark Byford, BBC deputy director general, is stepping down after 32 years at the corporation. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianPhotograph: Linda Nylind/GuardianMark Byford, BBC deputy director general, is stepping down after 32 years at the corporation. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianSteve Hewlett2011-05-30T06:00:06ZBBC management eyes Lord Patten nervouslyhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/may/16/bbc-trust-lord-patten
The Oxbridgers at the BBC may feel more relaxed with one of their own in the chair, but they underestimate Patten at their peril<p>Watching new BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten addressing staff on his first day in the job the other week reminded me of an RTS dinner some years back. The speaker was the then relatively new BBC chairman Sir Christopher Bland. As he spoke of the BBC as being at the "hub of the wheel" of UK broadcasting the smiles on the faces of BBC strategists – led at the time by Patricia Hodgson – broadened. By the end of the speech they were beaming like Cheshire cats. Why? Because the chairman had been captured. Of course Bland was always his own man and the line he advanced about the BBC's position in broadcasting was far from wrong, but the challenge posed by new chairmen to senior management has always been to get them on-message.</p><p>In this respect Patten's predecessor, Sir Michael Lyons, proved to be a trickier customer than usual. As the trust's first chair, he had to manage expectations that it would be more independent of management than the previous boards of governors, so there was always a sense of awkwardness and on occasion signs of tension between him and director general Mark Thompson.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/may/16/bbc-trust-lord-patten">Continue reading...</a>BBC TrustLord PattenMark ThompsonSir Michael LyonsBBCMediaTelevision industryRadio industryMedia businessMon, 16 May 2011 06:00:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/may/16/bbc-trust-lord-pattenPhotograph: Matt LLoyd/Rex FeaturesLord Patten, the new chairman of the BBC Trust. Photograph: Matt LLoyd/Rex FeaturesPhotograph: Matt LLoyd/Rex FeaturesLord Patten, the new chairman of the BBC Trust. Photograph: Matt LLoyd/Rex FeaturesSteve Hewlett2011-05-16T06:00:12ZBBC expenses decline – but watch out for the giftshttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/apr/20/bbc-expenses-decline-gifts
The latest figures reveal fewer claims for taxis, hotels and meals, but show some senior staff being showered with freebies<p>Like all publicly funded bodies, the BBC is often criticised for its wastefulness. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/04_april/20/disclosure.shtml" title="But the publication today of another tranche of executive expenses">But the publication today of another tranche of management expenses</a> suggests its most senior executives are increasingly parsimonious, at least when it comes to claiming back taxis, hotels and meals.</p><p>The BBC's 108 highest-paid bosses – including those on salaries of £150,000 or more – reduced the total amount of expenses they claimed in the first three quarters of this financial year by 14.1% compared with the equivalent period in 2009/10. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/apr/20/bbc-expenses-decline-gifts">Continue reading...</a>BBC expensesBBCMark ThompsonTelevision industryMediaWed, 20 Apr 2011 13:57:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/apr/20/bbc-expenses-decline-giftsPhotograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PAGloves off: Mark Thompson was given an iPod Nano and remote control glove, but donated it to Children in Need. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PAPhotograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PAGloves off: Mark Thompson was given an iPod Nano and remote control glove, but donated it to Children in Need. Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC/PAJames Robinson2011-04-20T13:57:19ZMark Thompson's BBC cuts splurgehttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/mar/22/bbc-cuts-splurge
The BBC director general has confirmed a list of possible cuts from BBC1 late night to BBC2 daytime and local radio – but can you discern an actual strategy?<p>So the BBC has resorted to a classic confusion strategy, as it tries to regain control of its cuts programme. Up pops Mark Thompson to offer up lots of cuts options - so many that reporters visiting White City were left to wonder "what's the line?". There wasn't one of course – just a splurge of ideas as Thompson tries to regain something resembling initiative by confirming most of what has leaked into the papers over the past fortnight.</p><p><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363475/BBC2-plans-axe-daytime-shows-replace-news.html">Cut daytime on BBC2</a>? Check. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/10/bbc-local-radio-5-live">End local radio outside peak time</a>? Yep. Share journalism across news and current affairs? Known that since it was announced the World Service was coming in. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/09/the-crimson-petal-and-the-white-bbc2">More repeats of drama</a>? Yep. Stop overnight programming (possibly from as soon as 10.30pm). Yes oh yes – but not Newsnight, even if that is struggling. Just Imagine maybe. Add it up and there's more than enough for reporters to cook up a story, but in the easily soiled currency of Fleet Street, this is largely old news.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/mar/22/bbc-cuts-splurge">Continue reading...</a>BBCMark ThompsonTelevision industryTue, 22 Mar 2011 15:17:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2011/mar/22/bbc-cuts-splurgePhotograph: BBCLate night show under threat? Photograph: BBCPhotograph: BBCLate night show under threat? Photograph: BBCDan Sabbagh2011-03-22T15:17:00ZMark Thompson survived the BBC licence fee crisis but must not overplay his handhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/06/mark-thompson-survived-bbc-licence-fee
BBC's director general has to demonstrate that there is a succession plan<p>Close, or rather near-run, was how the Duke of Wellington famously described the Battle of Waterloo. Which is pretty much what you could say for the battle recently endured by the BBC, which was less than 18 hours or so away from being destroyed by a Sunday cabinet decision. It's clear now that even Nick Clegg – as well as David Cameron and George Osborne – were prepared to sign off the deal that would have lumped in the cost of the free licence fees for the over-75s.</p><p>That may be a £556m bill now, but thanks to good diet and better healthcare would have risen to a massive £1bn pretty quickly, which is the kind of money that buys you best part of BBC1. Given that ministers were keen to hold the level of the licence fee flat, it would have been an eyewatering, end of BBC as we know it, sum of money to find. Only phone calls by the BBC to lots of Liberal Democrats managed to get Clegg to change his mind the next day.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/06/mark-thompson-survived-bbc-licence-fee">Continue reading...</a>Mark ThompsonMediaBBCBBC licence feeTelevision industryMon, 06 Dec 2010 07:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/06/mark-thompson-survived-bbc-licence-feeDan Sabbagh2010-12-06T07:00:06ZBBC director general says licence fee deal will strengthen independencehttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/25/bbc-mark-thompson-comment
Settlement will mean leaner BBC with focus on high quality content<p>Britain will have a strong and independent BBC for the foreseeable future. That's the main consequence of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/oct/20/bbc-cuts-spending-review" title="last week's licence fee settlement">last week's licence fee settlement</a>. Indeed, the BBC's operational and editorial independence will actually grow as a result of the deal. It wasn't what media observers expected. Indeed it was a result which seemed very much in doubt a week ago today, when we were told ministers had decided to make the BBC take on the financial burden of free licence fees for the over-75s – something which the BBC would have found not just financially disastrous, but constitutionally unacceptable. And yet it's true.</p><p>So how did it happen? Two weeks ago the government approached the BBC executive and the trust with the suggestion that the World Service be transferred to the licence fee. We responded by making it clear that such a move could only be considered in the context of an overall licence fee settlement. We believed it was perfectly possible to conclude such a settlement in a week. That was possible because both BBC management and the BBC Trust had already given a lot of thought to the BBC's future. Our strategy, Putting Quality First, had given us a fresh direction and a clear set of priorities. We had a sophisticated model of the BBC's finances ready to run. As a result, we and the government were able to compress many months of analysis and negotiation into a few hours.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/25/bbc-mark-thompson-comment">Continue reading...</a>BBCMark ThompsonBBC licence feeSir Michael LyonsBBC TrustBBC World ServiceRadio industryMediaSpending review 2010Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:00:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/25/bbc-mark-thompson-commentPhotograph: Graeme RobertsonBBC Broadcasting House. Photograph: Graeme RobertsonPhotograph: Graeme RobertsonBBC Broadcasting House. Photograph: Graeme RobertsonMark Thompson2010-10-25T06:00:10ZCSR deal has serious implications for BBC's independencehttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/25/csr-bbc-independence-steve-hewlett
Steve Hewlett: Mark Thompson may be pleased with himself, but World Service funding will have long-term consequences<p>When he spoke to staff on Thursday, Mark Thompson was looking pretty pleased with himself. His audience were left in no doubt that a complete catastrophe had been very narrowly avoided. Had the BBC been forced to pay for over-75s' free licence fees, the director general said, it would not just have been financially ruinous but a fundamental assault on the BBC's most cherished asset, its independence, turning the BBC into "an arm of the welfare state".</p><p>Instead he and his team secured what would appear to be a much better deal, guaranteeing the licence fee through to 2017. Thompson says it's a good deal, Jeremy Hunt says the same and Sky is absolutely furious that the BBC has escaped the scrutiny of a full licence fee renewal process. So that's all right then.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/25/csr-bbc-independence-steve-hewlett">Continue reading...</a>BBCMark ThompsonBBC licence feeBBC World ServiceRadio industryMediaMon, 25 Oct 2010 06:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/25/csr-bbc-independence-steve-hewlettSteve Hewlett2010-10-25T06:00:04ZMark Thompson is testing the strength of the BBC Trust | Steve Hewletthttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/18/mark-thompson-bbc-trust
Thompson's signature on the Cable letter came as an unpleasant surprise to the trust<p>Considering the whole structure's a fudge, the chairman of the BBC Trust, Sir Michael Lyons, and the corporation's director general, Mark Thompson, have done a pretty good job of making it work. Until now, that is. Last week's news that <a href="http://" title="Thompson had signed a letter to Vince Cable put together by non-Murdoch media groups">Thompson had signed a letter to Vince Cable put together by non-Murdoch media groups</a> – asking him to refer a News Corp bid to buy the 61% of BSkyB it doesn't already own for a plurality test – came as something of a surprise. Not least to many members of the trust.</p><p>And they're not happy. They were not consulted – which is not good if you think, as the BBC's sovereign body, your job is to look after its strategic positioning. What's more, had they been asked, some significant and influential trust members would have argued it was entirely wrong for the BBC to associate itself so publicly with what amounts to a lobby organised by Murdoch's commercial rivals. Especially given that it's a matter of public policy that doesn't directly affect the BBC's revenues, constitution or services. Irrespective of who is ultimately right, there is an undeclared struggle going on over whose writ runs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/18/mark-thompson-bbc-trust">Continue reading...</a>BBC TrustMark ThompsonBBCMediaSir Michael LyonsSky plcTelevision industryNews CorporationMon, 18 Oct 2010 06:00:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/18/mark-thompson-bbc-trustSteve Hewlett2010-10-18T06:00:38ZMark Byford's exit exposes BBC's leadership gaphttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/12/bbc-mark-byford-mark-thompson
As the deputy director general goes, the BBC board will be eying candidates from outside the corporation for the top job<p>The abolition of the deputy director general post at the BBC, and the imminent departure of the man who occupies it, Mark Byford, brings an urgent issue to the fore – succession planning.</p><p>It is widely assumed that director general Mark Thompson is planning to exit about 2012 once the London Olympics have taken place, ideally after he has also negotiated the next licence fee settlement.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/12/bbc-mark-byford-mark-thompson">Continue reading...</a>BBCMark ThompsonTelevision industryRadio industryMediaUK newsTue, 12 Oct 2010 11:54:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/oct/12/bbc-mark-byford-mark-thompsonPhotograph: Cambridge Jones/Getty ImagesMark Thompson: tipped to depart in 2012. Photograph: Cambridge Jones/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Cambridge Jones/Getty ImagesMark Thompson: tipped to depart in 2012. Photograph: Cambridge Jones/Getty ImagesMaggie Brown2010-10-12T11:54:15ZThe BBC executive board must cut their pay nowhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/sep/07/bbc-executive-pay
Mark Thompson promised 'significant movement' on executive pay – I'll believe it when I see it<p>One mystery about the BBC is why its executive board, led by Mark Thompson, have taken so long to accept they are overpaid, over-privileged, and must take cuts – for the sake of the corporation's future.</p><p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/10/jeremy-clarkson-terry-wogan-pay-cuts" title="When the push to cut the talent bill by 25% was confirmed in the summer of 2009">When plans to cut the salaries of some top talent by between 25% and 40% were confirmed in the summer of 2009</a>, why didn't these clever executives see the writing on the wall, and turn the knife on their own pay packages sooner?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/sep/07/bbc-executive-pay">Continue reading...</a>BBCBBC TrustMark ThompsonMediaTue, 07 Sep 2010 06:09:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/sep/07/bbc-executive-payPhotograph: Pierre Verdy/GettyMarcus Agius, chair of the BBC executive board remuneration committee – and Barclays Bank. Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP/GettyPhotograph: Pierre Verdy/GettyMarcus Agius, chair of the BBC executive board remuneration committee – and Barclays Bank. Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP/GettyMaggie Brown2010-09-07T06:09:16ZMark Thompson should heed his own warning on the BBC and politicianshttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/sep/03/mark-thompson-warning
The director general says 'staunch independence' is a pillar of British broadcasting. So what was he doing in Downing Street?<p>A line from <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/27/mark-thompson-mactaggart-full-text" title="Mark Thompson's MacTaggart lecture">Mark Thompson's MacTaggart lecture</a> a week ago is worth repeating today. "There's a third pillar on which British exceptionalism in broadcasting rests – which is a long and staunch history of editorial independence from political and commercial influence,"" he said. "At the moment – and despite the anxieties expressed over the past year – this independence seems secure."</p><p>Less than a week later, that editorial independence looks less secure than it has at any time since this election cycle began.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/sep/03/mark-thompson-warning">Continue reading...</a>Mark ThompsonMediaBBCTelevision industryBBC licence feePress freedomAndy CoulsonJeremy HuntConservativesPoliticsFri, 03 Sep 2010 13:10:36 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/sep/03/mark-thompson-warningPhotograph: Murdo MacleodBBC director general Mark Thompson: unlikely to forget how precarious his job is. Photograph: Murdo MacleodPhotograph: Murdo MacleodBBC director general Mark Thompson: unlikely to forget how precarious his job is. Photograph: Murdo MacleodJane Martinson2010-09-03T13:10:36ZEdinburgh wasn't about TV, it was all about Murdochhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/30/steve-hewlett-edinburgh-murdoch
The dominance of Sky in the British television industry is undeniable – but will this benefit the BBC?<p>Of all the things Mark Thompson said in his MacTaggart lecture, it was what he said about the Murdochs that is most likely to stick. Not the knockabout or the mickey-taking but the serious business of News Corp's likely purchase of the 61% of BSkyB it doesn't already own.</p><p>One company would own and control close to 50% of the national press (Sun, Times, News of the World and Sunday Times) and Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster – Sky would have created a concentration of media ownership across newspapers, TV and publishing more significant than anything to be found in any other major market. As Thompson pointed out, this would not be allowed in the USA or Australia.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/30/steve-hewlett-edinburgh-murdoch">Continue reading...</a>Edinburgh International Television FestivalTelevision industryMediaBBCSky plcNews CorporationMark ThompsonJames MurdochMediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival 2010Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:01:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/30/steve-hewlett-edinburgh-murdochPhotograph: David Cheskin/PAJames Murdoch dominated the events at Edinburgh. Photograph: David Cheskin/PAPhotograph: David Cheskin/PAJames Murdoch dominated the events at Edinburgh. Photograph: David Cheskin/PASteve Hewlett2010-08-30T06:01:04ZHow to interview Mark Thompsonhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/30/interview-mark-thompson-bbc
I was well prepared for my session with the BBC director general – and he duly gave me a 'tumbleweed moment'<p>Interviewing Mark Thompson (which I did in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2010/aug/28/mark-thompson-salford-video" title="post-MacTaggart interview on Saturday morning">post-MacTaggart interview on Saturday morning</a>) is a lot like doing a political interview. You know what he is going to say to most of your questions, and he has a pretty good idea what you are going to come at him with. He wants to get a message across, you want to dig away at what he is less comfortable with. You are both tired from the late night before. That whisky at 1.30am seems like such a bad idea as the lights go up on the session. He is also possibly the most powerful man in British television, an industry where you would like to continue working.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/30/interview-mark-thompson-bbc">Continue reading...</a>Edinburgh International Television FestivalTelevision industryMediaMark ThompsonChannel 4MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival 2010Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/30/interview-mark-thompson-bbcKrishnan Guru-Murthy2010-08-30T06:01:00ZMark Thompson MacTaggart: what the papers saidhttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/28/edinburghtvfestival-bbc
How the papers covered BBC director general Mark Thompson's MacTaggart lecture<p>The Guardian seems about the only national title to lead on BBC director general Mark Thompson's MacTaggart lecture comments about BSkyB, with a story headlined <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/27/bbc-mark-thompson-murdoch-mactaggart">"Murdoch is too powerful - BBC chief"</a>.</p><p>Most other titles majored on Thompson's talk of further cuts - stretching all the way up to his executive board colleagues.</p><p>"The Director-General of the BBC warned yesterday that some of his most senior lieutenants would be asked to leave, as he pledged to step up 'gut-wrenching' efficiency savings."</p><p>...checking out today's press, you'd think that Mark Thompson gave two different MacTaggarts. </p><p>...Over at The Guardian, it's war though, and the liberal newspaper takes the Thompson line. James Robinson does not touch the question of stars pay, and wades in with Thommo's view that Sky will soon "dwarf" the BBC and its other competitors. This was the key message of the speech, but not one that would necessarily resonate with a mass audience. But its reporting demonstrates now how utterly polarised journalism about the BBC is becoming – and you have to ask if the emerging left-right split is good for the Corporation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/28/edinburghtvfestival-bbc">Continue reading...</a>Edinburgh International Television FestivalTelevision & radioBBCMark ThompsonMediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival 2010Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:53:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/28/edinburghtvfestival-bbcPhotograph: Murdo MacleodMark Thompson delivers his MacTaggart lecture. Photograph: Murdo MacleodPhotograph: Murdo MacleodMark Thompson delivers his MacTaggart lecture. Photograph: Murdo MacleodJason Deans2010-08-28T11:53:34ZDoes Mark Thompson have the credibility to make this MacTaggart lecture count? | Steve Hewletthttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/23/bbc-mark-thompson-mactaggart
BBC director general must convince viewers, politicians, regulator – and his own staff – about the corporation's future<p>When the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, stands up to make his James MacTaggart memorial lecture at the <a href="http://www.mgeitf.co.uk/home/mgeitf.aspx" title="Media Guardian Edinburgh Television Festival">MediaGuardian Edinburgh international television festival</a> on Friday evening he will have to be facing several different directions at once. He will be addressing the archly critical industry audience in the room, the government, press and Westminster elite back in London, his own staff – many of whom are in a state of high anxiety over pay, jobs and pensions – and last (and in this case most probably least as well) the licence-fee-paying public who ultimately foot the bill.</p><p>Thompson is known to have carried a degree of frustration since he started the job in the wake of Greg Dyke's sudden, angry exit in 2004. Dealing with Dyke's legacy – coping with a looming overspend and playing catchup on preparations for licence fee negotiations and charter renewal – meant he never really had the chance to advance his big, intellectual BBC vision. So when the opportunity to deliver this year's MacTaggart lecture came along he would have seen it as an opportunity to rectify the situation – <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2009/aug/29/james-murdoch-edinburgh-festival-mactaggart" title="fully answering James Murdoch last year">fully answering James Murdoch last year</a> in the process.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/23/bbc-mark-thompson-mactaggart">Continue reading...</a>Mark ThompsonMediaEdinburgh International Television FestivalBBCGreg DykeBBC licence feeBBC expensesMediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival 2010Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:00:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/aug/23/bbc-mark-thompson-mactaggartSteve Hewlett2010-08-23T06:00:13ZOne thing is clear – the BBC Trust is not convinced by the BBC's executiveshttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/05/bbc-trust-executives
The information that emerged today shows the gap between management thinking and the standards demanded by the trust<p>Surveying the mound of information published by the BBC today one thing becomes blindingly clear. We've all been wondering if the BBC Trust will survive – it has. But in the meantime the trust has been taking the measure of the corporation's top BBC executives, including its director general, Mark Thompson, and finding them wanting. </p><p>The BBC's governance and regulatory body is increasingly questioning their decisions and the services they run. The trust has not been captured by the director general and his executive board.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/05/bbc-trust-executives">Continue reading...</a>BBCBBC TrustTelevision industryRadio industryMediaSir Michael LyonsMark ThompsonMon, 05 Jul 2010 16:18:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/05/bbc-trust-executivesMaggie Brown2010-07-05T16:18:31ZMedia Talk podcast: BBC plans to axe 6 Musichttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/audio/2010/mar/05/media-talk-podcast-bbc-cuts-6-music
6 Music looks set to go as Mark Thompson unveils his strategic review for the BBC. And Nick Robinson gives his take on the leaders' debates<p>It's been a bad week for lovers of new music – so it's with delicious irony that <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/mattwells">Matt Wells </a></strong>and the <strong>Media Talk </strong>team were booted out of their regular, roomy studio so that an obscure indie band could record a session for our <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/musicweekly">Music Weekly podcast</a></strong>.</p><p>Nevertheless, <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/maggiebrown">Maggie Brown </a></strong>and <strong><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/paulrobinson">Paul Robinson</a></strong> cram into the makeshift pod to analyse director general Mark Thompson's cuts – the most radical in the BBC's history. 6 Music was the headline casualty in the DG's new strategy to do fewer things better – so what now for the future of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/digital-radio">DAB</a>?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/audio/2010/mar/05/media-talk-podcast-bbc-cuts-6-music">Continue reading...</a>MediaBBCRadio industry6 MusicAsian NetworkMark ThompsonNick RobinsonGeneral election 2010ITV plcGreg DykeThe IndependentDigital radioStephen CarterFri, 05 Mar 2010 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/audio/2010/mar/05/media-talk-podcast-bbc-cuts-6-musicPhotograph: BBC/PRThe BBC 6Music logo Photograph: BBCPhotograph: BBC/PRThe BBC 6Music logo Photograph: BBCPresented by Matt Wells and produced by Ben Green2010-03-05T08:00:00ZWhat will the BBC do with its spare £600m?https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/mar/03/bbc-cuts-licence-fee-funding
The BBC is distinctly vague on plans for its vast additional programme budget. And that may help the Tories take it away<p>Central to the announcements by the BBC's Mark Thompson and Sir Michael Lyons is that £600m a year, a fifth of the total licence fee budget, is going to be shifted into a range of BBC programming by 2013.</p><p>The bulk of this money is available because after 2012 the BBC's "current major infrastructure projects" – principally in Salford, central London, Glasgow and Cardiff – should be complete, as should digital switchover.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/mar/03/bbc-cuts-licence-fee-funding">Continue reading...</a>BBCBBC licence feeBBC Trust6 MusicMark ThompsonSir Michael LyonsTelevision industryRadio industryMediaConservativesPoliticsWed, 03 Mar 2010 07:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/mar/03/bbc-cuts-licence-fee-fundingMaggie Brown2010-03-03T07:00:01ZLuke Johnson: What I really think of UK mediahttps://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/feb/08/luke-johnson-channel-4
The former chairman gives a valediction for Channel 4 and his candid views of the media industry<p>In my first interview to be the chairman of Channel 4, the panel asked me what I thought of public service broadcasting. Obviously I had no idea what they meant, so I waffled and got away with it. But over the years I realised no one else knows what it is – least of all the millions of viewers who directly or indirectly pay for it. It is a malleable phrase designed to cover a multitude of projects and expenditures. But it is also an ingenious semantic device that allows organisations such as C4 the creative freedom to continue funding and transmitting brilliant programmes, so as a tool I have to admit it works.</p><p>Soon after I joined C4 I realised broadcasting was an industry that enjoyed spectacularly comfy circumstances. For decades the commercial stations and the BBC had existed in a gorgeous oligopoly. Television remains an astonishingly powerful medium – nothing comes close to its ability to communicate and sell things. This strength is amplified because a large chunk of the supply carries no advertising, so the legacy networks really do enjoy an amazingly privileged position, even today. The price of this advantage is a preposterously over-regulated system – to what purpose, I have no idea. I suppose it keeps officials employed, and satisfies certain conservative elements who like to complain about the modern world.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/feb/08/luke-johnson-channel-4">Continue reading...</a>Luke JohnsonChannel 4Public service broadcastingTelevision industryTelevisionChannel 5David AbrahamBig BrotherBBCMediaMark ThompsonTelevision & radioBBC licence feeDoctor WhoRTLTelevisionBertelsmannInternetMon, 08 Feb 2010 07:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2010/feb/08/luke-johnson-channel-4Photograph: David Levene/GuardianLuke Johnson, the former chairman of Channel 4. Photograph: David LevenePhotograph: David Levene/GuardianLuke Johnson, the former chairman of Channel 4. Photograph: David LeveneLuke Johnson2010-02-08T07:00:01Z